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Category Archives: Text Crit

The print editions of the Nestle-Aland Greek texts include a lot of helpful information that most electronic editions in Bible software do not include (it is available via Accordance). Students with print editions may need to be reminded of this, too, as it easy to forget, not least when first learning to navigate these critical editions.

I managed to neglect the introduction (to the UBS4) when I started my first year Greek course a little over a decade ago. How?! This was the first thing I read when the NA28 landed on my doorstep in late 2012, and it was quite helpful to orient me to changes/new features of the 28th edition.

If you have not read the introduction to your Greek text for a while—and certainly if never!—do it. Students, pastors, and scholars alike would do well to re-visit the intro year by year.

And those appendices—so much information is packed into these final pages. Important information about the manuscripts used in the edition, readings of minor variants, a list of citations and allusions the NT makes of earlier texts, and a more complete section on abbreviations.

Here is one example of how I use an appendix. I am reading through the LXX of Isaiah (for research I am doing in Luke), so I keep Appendix III—Loci Citati vel Allegati (Passages cited or alluded)—open, to observe where the editors believe the Gospels and Acts cite or allude to the passage in Isaiah I am reading.

For more on how to use the NA28, one could consider David Trobisch’s User’s Guide (though Dirk’s review makes me hesitate to recommend it). I have not used it myself and don’t plan to. But by all means, start with the introduction.

From the Evangelical Textual Criticism blog: [Hoskier] notes that three manuscripts of Revelation have a curious little drawing (or perhaps better a pictogram) instead of the word ‘the sun’ ‘ο ηλιος’. …It is a curious little drawing and I am not sure it looks like a sun, much more like a circle with a tail,… Continue Reading

Recently Brice Jones reviewed The Early Text of the New Testament (OUP 2012). His overall evaluation is positive, and he provides both helpful summaries and critiques. He is most critical of essays by Kruger and Charlesworth, concluding: In sum, it seems apparent that there is a theological agenda behind both Kruger’s and Charlesworth’s articles. The conservative and apologetic… Continue Reading

P. J. Williams at the ETC blog has reviewed the SBLGNT, concluding: The real significance of this text is the electronic release of its text with an enlightened End-User License Agreement. For this many users will be grateful. However, the hard copy of the SBLGNT is not significantly cheaper than NA27 and offers no advantages… Continue Reading

Tommy Wasserman recently discussed an SBL paper he’s working on: Right now I am working on an SBL paper on Mark 1:1, “The Son of God Was in the Beginning” (perhaps you can guess from the title which reading I am arguing for). In any case I am working through the patristic citations, which has… Continue Reading

A few days ago, Peter Head asked where to find audio resources for textual criticism online. A few good leads may be found in the comments to his question (linked above). In addition, the NT Gateway has added a new page dedicated to textual criticism. Update: NT Gateway has just made some Additions and Further… Continue Reading

A couple of days ago, the TC blog announced some welcome news: Ulrich Schmid of the INTF just announced in a comment to a previous post that a database version of the Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments (ed. Kurt Aland) will be published on-line soon, perhaps by the end of September. I’m glad to see… Continue Reading

The new Codex Sinaiticus website (experiencing severe overload) has stirred up a lot of media coverage recently. The guys at the TC Blog have posted brief highlights of the related conference and a commitment for further details. I am particularly fascinated about René Larsen’s discussion regarding the potential of manuscript localization based on spectrographic analysis. I doubt such… Continue Reading